Do it yourself, but I can help you at any time: the dynamic effects of job autonomy and supervisor competence on performance

Complementing the literature on job autonomy, this study explored the joint effects of job autonomy needed and supplied on employees’ work engagement and subsequent job performance. To test our hypotheses, this study methodologically employed a polynomial regression analysis with response surface analysis, using multi-wave and multi-source data from a sample of 417 employee-leader dyads in China. Our results indicate that work engagement is high when the fit between job autonomy needed and supplied is high, particularly when the autonomy needed and supplied are both high rather than low. Moreover, work engagement mediates the effects of fit between job autonomy needed and supplied on task performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Perceived leader competence strengthens the indirect effects of the fit between job autonomy needed and supplied on task performance and OCB via work engagement. This study not only extends our theoretical understanding of the effectiveness of job autonomy by considering the important role played by employees’ personal needs for job autonomy and leader characteristics in the working environments but also offers useful practical implications for organizations to maximize the function of job autonomy and promote employee performance.